A Revolution in Retail Infosys Helps Loyalty Giant Aimia Become Customer Analytics Expert Case Study Case

A Revolution in Retail Infosys helps loyalty giant Aimia become customer analytics expert Case Study Case

www.infosys.com Fiachra Woodman, IT Director, EMEA of Aimia, doesn’t pull his punches: “In this day and age, for a retailer not to understand its customers is untenable and almost rude.”

And he should know. His company is one of the world’s leaders in customer loyalty programmes. It owns or operates more than 100 loyalty programmes in 20 countries including the Nectar programme in the UK with 18.5 million members and Aeroplan, Canada’s premier coalition loyalty program.

Loyalty programmes have been extremely valuable to the retail sector. But they aren’t enough anymore. Consumers are increasingly price-conscious and competition in a marketplace that has traditionally been erce, is today ferocious.

In line with its corporate vision, Aimia embarked on a strategy to build a globally respected and next generation analytics solutions. It chose Infosys, the global consulting and IT services company, to build the agship product of this new service – the Intelligent Shopper Solution.

The product is delivering signicant nancial returns. Retailers and consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies are increasing sales by up to 5%.

The Loyalty of Millions

Aimia and Infosys rst partnered in 2001, when Aimia introduced the UK Nectar loyalty programme. The UK hadn’t seen anything like it before. It had high- prole launch partners, including Sainsbury’s and BP, and needed an IT system that could handle large volumes of secured transactions from the start.

It had to integrate with its partners’ dierent point-of-sale systems and also be exible enough to incorporate new retail partners. And clearly it had to be easy for Nectar card holders to use.

Infosys used a full range of consulting, technology expertise, IT development and maintenance capabilities to deliver the required IT system. Today the Nectar “Time and time again, Infosys programme handles millions of transactions a day, counts half of UK households have been the go-to guys for among its membership and has 14 major partners, over 20 reward partners and over 500 online retailers participating. me. I’ve been very impressed by their dedication and their Ever since, Infosys has remained Aimia’s trusted IT partner. “Infosys has been with professionalism. They are an us so long their people know our language, know our business, and understand essential part of our future. They our domain. Like a hand in a glove, they t very neatly into our day to day are global and we are a company operations. They provide the development acumen, architecture acumen, and 24x7 implementation support around the globe,” said Simon Hawkes, COO, with global aspirations, therefore it EMEA of Aimia. “They have a global delivery model that bets the regions we is unthinkable that they would not operate in.” be our partners in the future.”

Fiachra Woodman, IT Director, EMEA, Aimia. 2 | Infosys Fiachra Woodman, IT Director, EMEA of Aimia, doesn’t pull his punches: “In this day and age, for a retailer not to understand its customers is untenable and almost rude.”

One way that retailers can stay ahead is to get more insight from their customer data. Armed with this information shopping behaviours can be inuenced, for example through precisely targeted promotions. Analysis Paralysis Creating the Intelligent In line with its corporate vision, Aimia embarked on a strategy to build a Over the last few years, retailers and CPG companies have Shopper Solution globally respected and next generation analytics solutions. It chose Infosys, come under increasing economic and competitive pressure. the global consulting and IT services company, to build the agship product Almost every high street and shopping centre tells a tale of The Intelligent Shopper Solution software was built of this new service – the Intelligent Shopper Solution. historical and renowned brands being swept away. using Kognitio analytics platform and Adobe Flex for The product is delivering signicant nancial returns. Retailers and consumer Loyalty schemes have given some organisations an edge the rich user interface. The Infosys team developed packaged goods (CPG) companies are increasing sales by up to 5%. in helping retain customers and maintain market share. it for retailers and CPG companies. Infosys provides But many haven’t been able to make full use of the data 24x7 support and ongoing consultancy, including they gather – typically less than 10% of loyalty card data is help to introduce the solution to Aimia’s new retail The Loyalty of Millions analysed and used as a basis for extrapolations. This provides customers. The solution is hosted by Aimia on its a broad understanding of their business, but doesn’t give own hardware and uses a J2EE architecture with an Aimia and Infosys rst partnered in 2001, when Aimia introduced the UK Nectar meaningful insight into individual shopper behaviour. loyalty programme. The UK hadn’t seen anything like it before. It had high- Oracle data store. It helps create value from customer prole launch partners, including Sainsbury’s and BP, and needed an IT system “Retailers are looking for loyalty programmes to be more data and enables retailers to make better retail that could handle large volumes of secured transactions from the start. insightful and tailored. Expectations are rising and the bar is decisions in the area of pricing, promotions, ranging, getting higher,” said Woodman. space planning, store format, store locations, It had to integrate with its partners’ dierent point-of-sale systems and also be product availability, new product development and exible enough to incorporate new retail partners. And clearly it had to be easy Big Data to Personalised Marketing for Nectar card holders to use. communication strategy. To create and manage a platform that could analyse Infosys used a full range of consulting, technology expertise, IT development customer data, Aimia turned to Infosys. “Infosys has and maintenance capabilities to deliver the required IT system. Today the Nectar always facilitated any expansion or opportunity we’ve had” the customer’s identity, transaction history and “Time and time again, Infosys programme handles millions of transactions a day, counts half of UK households said Hawkes. loyalty card information provides a powerful, single view among its membership and has 14 major partners, over 20 reward partners and have been the go-to guys for The Intelligent Shopper Solution provides retailers and of the consumer. over 500 online retailers participating. me. I’ve been very impressed CPG companies with insight and fast answers about how to The Intelligent Shopper Solution uses a highly intuitive by their dedication and their Ever since, Infosys has remained Aimia’s trusted IT partner. “Infosys has been with in uence buying behaviour. interface to deliver graphical reports over the internet. As professionalism. They are an us so long their people know our language, know our business, and understand All transaction data, over the past two years, can be analysed. a result, lead time for reports is cut from hours or days to essential part of our future. They our domain. Like a hand in a glove, they t very neatly into our day to day For Sainsbury’s, that’s 30 million records each night or 22 minutes. For example, Sainsbury’s can query data and get a operations. They provide the development acumen, architecture acumen, and are global and we are a company billion records. Nearly all till receipt information is captured report in less than three minutes. And because updates are 24x7 implementation support around the globe,” said Simon Hawkes, COO, with global aspirations, therefore it from till number and payment type, to transaction value, made overnight, the reports are as current as the previous EMEA of Aimia. “They have a global delivery model that bets the regions we is unthinkable that they would not product numbers and discounts applied. Combining this with day’s closing numbers. operate in.” be our partners in the future.”

Fiachra Woodman, IT Director, EMEA, Aimia. Infosys | 3 Financial Returns for Retailers data we have from loyalty programmes with unstructured data from social media, so we can provide a seamless omni- Woodman is bullish about the benets of the platform: “We channel experience to shoppers. Data analytics is no longer a run loyalty programmes suciently compelling for people luxury, it’s a necessity.” to identify themselves at the point when they transact with our customers. This enables us to derive insight about who “Time and time again, the Infosys team have been the go-to they are. We can then create actionable campaigns to elicit guys for me,” he continued. “I’ve been very impressed by their consumer behaviour that our customers want.” dedication and their professionalism. They are an essential part of our future. They are global and we are a company with As well as enabling smarter and more granular customer global aspirations, therefore it is unthinkable that they would segmentation, the platform also enables highly personalised not be our partners in the future.” marketing. For example, advanced basket analysis allows retailers and CPG suppliers to recognise changes in established customer shopping behaviour. In response, people can be encouraged to increase spending through the provision of more compelling and personalised Why Infosys? money-o coupons and increased reward points. Coupons can be tailored so a shopper might be rewarded • Infosys has been a trusted advisor for Aimia’s for buying a specic brand, increasing basket size or for EMEA IT projects since 2001, including building making more frequent visits to a retailer’s stores. Using the Nectar mobile app and oshoring the promotions like these, retailers can increase their top line processing of Nectar points to India. by a signicant percentage. • Infosys has built company-wide trust and committed time to managing the relationship Today the Intelligent Shopper Solution boasts clients around across the board. the globe who rely on it to collect, analyse and derive actionable insights through point of sale and customer • Infosys played an important role in the successful data. Organisations include US pharmacy CVS, Switzerland’s launch of Nectar in the UK, drawing upon its integrated use of business consulting, research leading retailer Migros, Australian retailer Coles and Canadian and development and retail analytics expertise. outt Sobeys, as well as more than 150 CPG companies. • As a global systems integrator, Infosys is well The Facebook E ect positioned to support international expansion by providing local support in markets worldwide. But Woodman is not stopping there. He has further plans. “The next big challenge will be to integrate the structured

4 | Infosys “Infosys has been with us so long their people know our language, know our business, and understand our domain. Like a hand in a glove, they t very neatly into our day to day operations. They provide the development acumen, architecture acumen, and 24x7 implementation support around the globe. They have a global delivery model that be ts the regions we operate in. “

Simon Hawkes, Chief Operating Oce, EMEA, Aimia

Financial Returns for Retailers data we have from loyalty programmes with unstructured data from social media, so we can provide a seamless omni- Woodman is bullish about the benets of the platform: “We channel experience to shoppers. Data analytics is no longer a run loyalty programmes suciently compelling for people luxury, it’s a necessity.” to identify themselves at the point when they transact with our customers. This enables us to derive insight about who “Time and time again, the Infosys team have been the go-to they are. We can then create actionable campaigns to elicit guys for me,” he continued. “I’ve been very impressed by their consumer behaviour that our customers want.” dedication and their professionalism. They are an essential part of our future. They are global and we are a company with As well as enabling smarter and more granular customer global aspirations, therefore it is unthinkable that they would segmentation, the platform also enables highly personalised not be our partners in the future.” marketing. For example, advanced basket analysis allows retailers and CPG suppliers to recognise changes in ABOUT AIMIA established customer shopping behaviour. In response, people can be encouraged to increase spending through Aimia is a global leader in loyalty management. Aimia’s unique capabilities include proven expertise in delivering proprietary the provision of more compelling and personalised Why Infosys? loyalty services, launching and managing coalition loyalty programs, creating value through loyalty analytics and driving money-o coupons and increased reward points. innovation in the emerging digital and mobile spaces. Aimia owns and operates Aeroplan, Canada’s premier coalition loyalty Coupons can be tailored so a shopper might be rewarded • Infosys has been a trusted advisor for Aimia’s programme and Nectar, the United Kingdom’s largest coalition loyalty programme. Aimia is a Canadian public company listed for buying a specic brand, increasing basket size or for EMEA IT projects since 2001, including building on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:AIM) and has over 3,800 employees in more than 20 countries around the world. For more making more frequent visits to a retailer’s stores. Using the Nectar mobile app and oshoring the information about Aimia, please visit www.aimia.com. promotions like these, retailers can increase their top line processing of Nectar points to India. by a signicant percentage. • Infosys has built company-wide trust and committed time to managing the relationship Today the Intelligent Shopper Solution boasts clients around across the board. the globe who rely on it to collect, analyse and derive actionable insights through point of sale and customer • Infosys played an important role in the successful data. Organisations include US pharmacy CVS, Switzerland’s launch of Nectar in the UK, drawing upon its integrated use of business consulting, research About Infosys leading retailer Migros, Australian retailer Coles and Canadian Infosys is a global leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing solutions. We enable clients, in and development and retail analytics expertise. more than 30 countries, to stay a step ahead of emerging business trends and outperform the outt Sobeys, as well as more than 150 CPG companies. competition. We help them transform and thrive in a changing world by co-creating breakthrough • As a global systems integrator, Infosys is well solutions that combine strategic insights and execution excellence. The Facebook E ect positioned to support international expansion by Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NYSE: INFY), with US$8.25 billion in annual revenues and providing local support in markets worldwide. 160,000+ employees, is Building Tomorrow's Enterprise® today. But Woodman is not stopping there. He has further plans. For more information, contact [email protected] www.infosys.com “The next big challenge will be to integrate the structured © 2014 Infosys Limited, Bangalore, India. All Rights Reserved. Infosys believes the information in this document is accurate as of its publication date; such information is subject to change without notice. Infosys acknowledges the proprietary rights of other companies to the trademarks, product names and such other intellectual property rights mentioned in this document. Except as expressly permitted, neither this documentation nor any part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, printing, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Infosys Limited and/ or any named intellectual property rights holders under this document.